County Looks At Unified EMS Proposal
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Kosciusko County officials have agreed to study problems facing local EMS providers.
The move came after a recommendation by Warsaw-Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce urging the county to establish a commission to study a variety of problems plaguing emergency medical services.
Of the eight EMS services in Kosciusko County, only two - Multi-Township EMS and North Webster EMS - are staffed 24 hours a day and have paramedics. The others, including Syracuse, which operates out of its fire department, rely on volunteers.
The chamber has been studying concerns voiced by EMS providers for two years. Its recommendation came from the governmental issues committee headed by Michael Gavin and Jean Northenor.
Among the problems highlighted in the chamber report:
• A lack of paramedics and a disparity of services available throughout the county.
• A lack of cooperation and duplication of services between the EMS services.
• Financial constraints.
• Dispatch problems in which delays are caused because radio dispatchers are sometimes unsure who is or should be responding to an emergency call.
The commissioners approved plans to create a commission, but were not ready Tuesday to discuss who might be appointed. The chamber recommended that EMS providers and townships that provide much of the services' funding have a voice on the commission.
It appears the commissioners would like to assess the situation.
"The time has come to look at what services are available," said commissioner Avis Gunter.
The chamber report suggested the commisson consider "issues related to providing countywide service," and pointed to a Kosciusko Leadership Academy white paper that recommended a countywide paramedic service be established.
The white paper also proposed the service be hospital-based with stations at Kosciusko Community Hospital and the southern and northern parts of the county.
The lack of volunteers and paramedics among the volunteer services often results in MTEMS providing dual responses outside of its jurisdiction, which includes Wayne Township, Etna Township and the southern part of Plain Township.
"We definitely need to get some direction," said Cindy Dobbins, director of Multi-Township EMS.
Dobbins was supportive of general themes suggested in the white paper, but noted that any changes in MTEMS would have to be approved by its board.
"I would have to see the plan, but many of the surrounding counties have county services or hospital-based services and they seem to get along pretty well," Dobbins said.
Unifying services, she said, could help cut costs overall for the eight services.
No specific proposals from the white paper were ever presented to the county, and Eddie Creighton, president of the commissioners, said it would be "premature" to suggest what the county's future role should be in the EMS issue.
The chamber based part of its recommendation on comments from a representative of the Indiana State EMS Commission who spoke locally last October and supported the idea of a local commission. [[In-content Ad]]
Kosciusko County officials have agreed to study problems facing local EMS providers.
The move came after a recommendation by Warsaw-Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce urging the county to establish a commission to study a variety of problems plaguing emergency medical services.
Of the eight EMS services in Kosciusko County, only two - Multi-Township EMS and North Webster EMS - are staffed 24 hours a day and have paramedics. The others, including Syracuse, which operates out of its fire department, rely on volunteers.
The chamber has been studying concerns voiced by EMS providers for two years. Its recommendation came from the governmental issues committee headed by Michael Gavin and Jean Northenor.
Among the problems highlighted in the chamber report:
• A lack of paramedics and a disparity of services available throughout the county.
• A lack of cooperation and duplication of services between the EMS services.
• Financial constraints.
• Dispatch problems in which delays are caused because radio dispatchers are sometimes unsure who is or should be responding to an emergency call.
The commissioners approved plans to create a commission, but were not ready Tuesday to discuss who might be appointed. The chamber recommended that EMS providers and townships that provide much of the services' funding have a voice on the commission.
It appears the commissioners would like to assess the situation.
"The time has come to look at what services are available," said commissioner Avis Gunter.
The chamber report suggested the commisson consider "issues related to providing countywide service," and pointed to a Kosciusko Leadership Academy white paper that recommended a countywide paramedic service be established.
The white paper also proposed the service be hospital-based with stations at Kosciusko Community Hospital and the southern and northern parts of the county.
The lack of volunteers and paramedics among the volunteer services often results in MTEMS providing dual responses outside of its jurisdiction, which includes Wayne Township, Etna Township and the southern part of Plain Township.
"We definitely need to get some direction," said Cindy Dobbins, director of Multi-Township EMS.
Dobbins was supportive of general themes suggested in the white paper, but noted that any changes in MTEMS would have to be approved by its board.
"I would have to see the plan, but many of the surrounding counties have county services or hospital-based services and they seem to get along pretty well," Dobbins said.
Unifying services, she said, could help cut costs overall for the eight services.
No specific proposals from the white paper were ever presented to the county, and Eddie Creighton, president of the commissioners, said it would be "premature" to suggest what the county's future role should be in the EMS issue.
The chamber based part of its recommendation on comments from a representative of the Indiana State EMS Commission who spoke locally last October and supported the idea of a local commission. [[In-content Ad]]